Here’s How Much Kids Should Sleep

Everyone knows that getting enough sleep is vital for health, but just how much sleep are you supposed to get? For kids and teens, the answer is a lot. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine released its first official recommendations for how much sleep young people should be getting, from infants to teenagers. 

Based on an analysis of 864 studies on kids and sleep, here’s what experts from 12 medical institutions have to say:

- Infants 4 months to 12 months should sleep 12 to 16 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

- Children 1 to 2 years of age should sleep 11 to 14 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

- Children 3 to 5 years of age should sleep 10 to 13 hours per 24 hours (including naps) on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

- Children 6 to 12 years of age should sleep 9 to 12 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

- Teenagers 13 to 18 years of age should sleep 8 to 10 hours per 24 hours on a regular basis to promote optimal health.

Because of insufficient evidence and wide variation in the data on sleep duration for infants younger than four months, there’s no recommendation for that age range right now. The researchers note that getting enough sleep is linked to better health, improved mental performance, and better behavior, while not getting enough sleep comes with higher risks for conditions like hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and depression.

The guidelines, published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, have been endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Sleep Technologists, and the Sleep Research Society.